


Drabble A Day 2

by EzzyDean



Category: Free!, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: F/M, Fated verse, Gen, M/M, ending AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-10
Updated: 2014-04-02
Packaged: 2018-01-15 05:59:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 6,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1293946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzzyDean/pseuds/EzzyDean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>More Tumblr prompts/drabbles.  Most are 200-500 words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kagami & Kuroko - Traps

"I’d hate to say I told you so, Kagami."

"No, you wouldn’t.  You’d love to say it.  You want to say it.  I can see it written all over your annoyingly blank face."

"How can you see something if my face is blank?"

"You know what?  Just, ugh, shut up, okay?  Shut up and help me out of this."  Kuroko followed the wire wrapped around Kagami’s ankle up into the tree and around to a nearby patch of brush.  A soft sigh was Kagami’s only warning before he was suddenly face first in the dirt.

"To fall for such a simple trap."  Kuroko let his voice trail off as he stepped over and held out Kagami’s weapons.

"Just… shut up."  Kagami rubbed his ankle with a glare before snatching the weapons back.  "I know you had to have seen it.  Give me a warning or something next time.  Aren’t traps and crap like that what you little rogues are good at?"

"You fight, I  _assist_.  I didn’t think warning you about obvious trip lines and bear traps was necessary.”

"Well it is."

"Ok.  In that case Kagami might want to watch out for -" his quiet voice was cut off by the sudden onslaught of loud curses, "the tree."

He sighed, shook his head, and dug through his pouches for a medicine kit.  You would think someone as tall and broad as Kagami would be a touch more aware of his surroundings.


	2. Rin - Crying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Rin being real upset and crying hysterically for some reason

He can’t breathe.  _He can’t breathe_.   **He can’t breathe.**

For a moment that fact blots out all the half formed thoughts swimming through his cloudy mind.  It’s the only thing he recognizes for a few agonizing seconds that could just as well be hours.  He can vaguely feel the cold tile floor under his knees and he’s pretty sure his toes are cramping from being tensed in such an unusual position for so long.  The tears flowing down his cheeks are barely registered because damn it he  _can’t breathe_.

The knot in his chest tightens again and he’s sure he’s going to pass out and then there’s nothing.  No pain.  No sound.  No tears.  Time is frozen for an eternity.

And then he finally pulls in a shuddering breath that seems to rattle his very bones and he exhales a sob; harsh and hoarse and if he makes it through this he’s going to have trouble talking in the morning.

Somehow it always seems to come down to this.  Him and his wayward emotions duking it out on his bathroom floor when he lets his guard down for too long.  His vision wavers and he closes his eyes to block out… whatever he can.  Sometimes it was all just too much.  Too fast.  Too many variables and outcomes and too many ways everything could, and probably would, go wrong.  His fingers carved red cracks into his palms.  They would be raw and tender in the morning but that was that.

For all that he was a shark and a swimmer sometimes he still managed to find himself drowning, unable to find his way out of the darkness and back to the surface.

A soft knock at the door draws his attention and the voice calling his name in an unsure tone steals his breath again and fuck he can’t breathe  _he can’t breathe_ and the tears start again as an agonized groan tries to claw it’s way out of his throat.


	3. Rin - Sick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: rin gets horribly extremely dangerously ill (he's not dangerously ill but he feels like he's dying)

For four days the only thing he had been able to do was lay on his bed in misery.  He was hot and cold.  Hoarse and sniffly.  Sore and above else completely damn miserable.  He couldn’t concentrate enough to read anything.  His head hurt too much for the flashing lights of a movie.

It also  didn’t help that every time someone came to “cheer him up” it inevitably ended with him stumbling as gracefully as possible (which wasn’t very) towards the bathroom while they waited awkwardly in his room, pretending not to hear his stomach rebelling against him, or he wound up curled under the blankets as his head throbbed through his guest’s chatter and goodwill.

His bedroom door creaked open and he turned away from it.  All he wanted - since he couldn’t exactly take a shower and clean the layer of sweat and digustingness of the last few days off in his current condition - was to be left alone in his misery to die his slow and painful death in peace.

Instead a gentle hand placed a cool cloth on his head and he heard a glass or mug of some kind placed on his night stand.  Then whoever it was left.  In and out in under a minute and not a word spoken.  Rin let himself doze for a few minutes before rolling over and stretching his arm out for the mug.  It was filled with some kind of warm tea and what little he could smell of it actually didn’t make his stomach turn.  But could he keep it down if he drank it was the important thing.  Then again did it really matter at this point?  He needed to try something.  His last solid food had been almost five days ago now and the last soup he had tried was sometime the night before.

"Here goes nothing," he muttered and took a cautious sip.  It was pretty much tasteless thanks to his currently stuffed nose but it soothed his throat and warmed his stomach.  He finished about half the mug before curling back up on the bed, hoping it would stay put.

Apparently it did this time because he was woken up a couple hours later when someone shook his shoulder lightly.

"There’s a warm bath ready if you want in on the action," Nagisa said and gave him a grin when looked up at him.  After a moment he nodded and Nagisa stepped into the hallway.  He came back a moment later with Rei behind him.  "Let’s get you cleaned up."  They helped him up and walked beside him, catching him when he stumbled but otherwise letting him make it on his own.  Too tired of being sick to care about being decent Rin shrugged out of his clothes and sank into the tub without even waiting for the others to leave.  Not that it would matter cause it’s not like he had anything different going on than they did, other than being a couple pounds lighter than normal thanks to whatever strain of hell-flu had knocked him on his ass.  He missed the glance the other two shared before Nagisa left and Rei turned to Rin.

"Can you wash your hair or would you like me to do it?"

"You."  

Rei was efficient and gentle and Rin soon found himself sinking into the tub up to his chin with his knees popping out.  Rei tapped his knee for his attention and placed Rin’s phone on the ground beside the tub.

"I’m sure you don’t feel like yelling so if you need anything send Nagisa or me a text," Rei said and then left Rin alone.

Some forty minutes later the water was drained from the tub and Rin found himself back in bed with delightfully fresh sheets and pillowcases.  Gou gave him a soft hug and set his phone within reach, right next to some medicine and another mug of tea.

"We’re all gonna be here for awhile if you need anything.  So just text us, ok?"

Rin still felt absolutely miserable, he still shivered and sweated and was pretty sure his stomach was holding a mutiny against his body.  But after the bath and new sheets he felt somewhat human again at least.


	4. MikoMakoRin - Fated verse - Duende

**Duende**  - Unusual power to attract or charm.

 

"Does he have any idea how hard he makes my job?"  Seijuro shifted and propped his hip on the edge of the long open window of Makoto’s shop.  Heavy clouds hung low in the desert air and the prince was using the impeding storm as an excuse to avoid court duties: there would be time enough for paperwork and meetings when they were in the middle of the storm after all.  So here they were in the market, the prince happily surrounded by his people as he wandered from shop to shop and glanced through the wares.

"I’m sure it’s not on purpose.  People are just drawn to him," Makoto said before smiling.  "I know I was."

"That doesn’t help me much."  Makoto chuckled and Seijuro glanced at the man leaning out the window beside him.  Something about him had caught his prince’s attention and drawn him in.  The brunet was easy to be around and even the guard captain felt at ease around him.  But that didn’t change the fact that the prince was currently surrounded by way too many people.  He stepped forward to break through the crowd and place himself at his prince’s side, where he should be, when Makoto placed a hand on his elbow.

"He’s okay.  You’re always watching him.  And he knows it.  Which is why he can be as relaxed as he is."

"Your dynamic is always what attracted me to the two of you, you know"


	5. RinHaru - Tarantism

**Tarantism -**  The urge to overcome melancholy by dancing

 

"It’s not swimming, but," Rin shrugged and held out his hand, waiting for a response of some kind, "wanna try?"  Blue eyes searched his own for something, some hidden meaning or some falseness behind the offer.  But all Rin was interested in was trying to replace even a sliver of that deep sadness that seemed to have taken him over.

He was sure that Haru was going to turn away again, give him the cold shoulder and continue to stare out the window like he had for the past week.  Surprisingly a cool hand slipped into his and after a moment he tugged Haru to his feet with a gentle smile.

"Dancing isn’t my thing."

"Just let me lead for awhile."  Rin settled Haru’s wrists on his shoulders and wrapped his arms around Haru’s waist.  Their hearts beating slowly against each other and their socked feet shuffling across the floor was the only music they needed.


	6. MakoRin - Cagamosis

**Cagamosis**  - An unhappy marriage.

 

It was never what was said between them, always what was left unsaid.  Heavy silences tinged with a million little emotions: anger, frustration, sadness, worry, loneliness, and so much more.  How many nights had they fallen asleep with their backs to each other?  How many times had the door almost slammed shut only to be caught at the last moment to soften the blow?  How many times had they shared meals without a single word?

Balled fists hit bare walls, teeth bit holes into cheeks, nails dug quarter moons into palms.  Screams were swallowed.  Tongues were bitten.

A harsh silence ruled their lives.

One neither of them had the strength to break.

Because once you’re in that deep, is it even worth it to claw your way back to the surface?

The day on the beach seemed so long ago.

"Let’s just… stop."

The silence wasn’t merely broken.  It was shattered and Rin sat up with a gasp.

"Rin?"  Makoto’s sleepy voice caught him off guard and he nearly fell out of the hotel bed.  Sunlight was peeking through the edges of the curtains and he stared at the simple silver band on his finger.  "Bad dream?"  Mako’s warm arm tugged him against his chest and he threaded their fingers together, matching bands nestled against each other.

"The worst," Rin replied before tugging the annoying cat ears off his head and relaxing into his new husband’s embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This goes along with my MakoRin wedding fic, [Hush](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1183854)


	7. MikRin - Fated verse - Wanweird

**Wanweird**  - An unhappy fate 

 

It was another sweltering day in the palace and the captain found himself once again frantically searching for his wayward prince.  They had been warily circling each other for days now, the heat and the enormity of their actions starting to drag them down more and more each day, and this morning had been the last straw.

Rin had once again skipped out on his morning meetings to scurry out and play hooky with that damned merchant.  Not that Seijuro could really blame Rin for wanting a break.  The prince had been meeting with traders and townsfolk alike for the past week straight: listening to petty disputes, cries of overtaxing, and just general discontent.  It was enough to try even the most patient of souls.  And Rin was not known for patience.  But this was his responsibility no matter how much he disliked it and running away from it was not going to make things better for either of them.

He might not have needed to scold his prince quite so severely, or threaten to keep him under full surveillance all hours of the day, but finding him curled up in the merchant’s shop like a stray cat had just set something off inside of Seijuro.

So he had lashed out and now his prince was avoiding him.  He hadn’t found him in his rooms, the garden, or even the pools.  He took a deep breath and opened the door to the library, this was the last place he could think of that his prince would hide.  It was cool and rarely used.  The perfect place to hide out from everyone.

 

Watching the steady rise and fall of his prince’s chest as he dozed in one of the piles of cushions scattered throughout the room the captain wondered if he would be doing this forever.  It would be the most bittersweet kind of fate, he decided as he took a seat near the door.

Insistent pounding startled him awake and he groaned at the sight of the bunk above him.  A most bittersweet fate indeed.


	8. MakoRin - Apodyopis

**Apodyopis -** The act of mentally undressing someone.

 

It’s not like he didn’t know what the other guy was doing.  How could you  _not_  know when his eyes looked like that.  Glittering, possessive, intense.  Like he was studying everything, right down to the way his muscles tensed ever so slightly anytime he felt that gaze on him.

It was incredibly hard to concentrate on even the simplest of tasks when Makoto was looking at him.  Following Sei’s suggestion of going to that stupid bar had to have been the worst decision of his life.  But he had never expected to see the green eyed man sitting here in the coffee shop, smiling gently and innocently at anyone who approached him, and then turning that incredibly not innocent gaze on him.

It’s not like he hadn’t done his fair share of staring from time to time but he had never undressed someone so blatantly with just a look.

"See something you like, Mako?"  Nagisa’s voice easily carried through the now mostly empty shop and Rin felt his face flush as the blonde bounced through the door and over to Makoto’s table.

Makoto simply smiled and turned his green gaze back to the man behind the counter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of my [Selachii's](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1063746) AU


	9. MakoRin - Lygerastia

**Lygerastia**  - The condition of one who is only amorous when the lights are out. 

 

His shoulders hit the wall and he wasn’t sure if he was breathless from that or from the way Makoto was pressing his lips against his neck.  Rin had a feeling that it was going to be a good thing he was on break from work for a few days.  He was pretty sure there was already a mark or two near where his jaw met his neck from the particularly delicious and embarrassingly hot couple of minutes he and Makoto had spent pressed into the shadows of a random alleyway halfway back to his apartment; Mako palming him through his already tight jeans while Rin’s fingers inched their way under the back of Mako’s pants to knead the muscles of his wonderful ass.

When the shadows crept along the pavement it seemed sometimes that something crept out of the deepest part of Mako’s being.  It was dark but it was a thrilling kind of darkness.

From there they had hurried along, stopping a few times to pull one another into a darkened doorway or shadowy corner for a few sloppy kisses or hurried touches, until they finally reached Rin’s apartment.  Mako stood far too close as Rin dug his keys out and opened the door.  The keys jangled as they hit the floor and Mako swept the door shut with his foot before pinning Rin to the wall.

He was pretty sure he could die happy right now.  Then Mako’s hands slid from his hair down his arms and settled on his hips and he opened his eyes just in time to see the possessive gleam that appeared in those green eyes in the sliver of light from the kitchen window before the brunet was on his knees tugging Rin’s jeans and boxers down around his thighs.  Rin was pretty sure he did die for the briefest of moments when Makoto’s lips pressed against his bared hips.


	10. MikoMako - Petrichor

**Petrichor** \- The smell of dry rain on the ground.

 

There was always some storm or another to deal with.  Classes, teammates, friends, family.  It was hard to take even a breath sometimes.  That was what made these moments so precious, so intense in their simplicity.

Just lying on the floor listening to the sound of the other man’s heartbeat beneath his ear was calming.  He felt as if he was wrapped in a cocoon of warmth.  He moved to get up but the arms around him tightened and the chest beneath his cheek shifted as Seijuro looked down at him.

"Just stay here."

"But it’s raining."

"Just leave the windows open.  It’s a quiet storm.  Besides the rain smells almost as good as you."  Makoto couldn’t help the blush that slipped onto his cheeks as Seijuro ran a hand through his hair.  "I need you to just stay right here for the moment."  His voice dropped to a murmur as he drifted back off to sleep.  "I can breathe easier with you here."

The rain soon stopped but neither man noticed.


	11. Haru & Gou - Sphallolalia

**Sphallolalia** \- Flirtatious talk that leads no where.

 

She nudged his shoulder and nodded towards the water with an indulgent smile.

"Go ahead."  The sun was shining and turning the pool into glass in the still summer heat.  He shook his head and leaned back onto his hands, watching her.

"Swim with me."

"You know I don’t swim."

"I can teach you."

"Since when do you put the effort into teaching people to swim?  Besides you know it’s not because I can’t.  I’m just horrible at it.  I’ll probably drown or something."

"Neither I nor the water would let you drown."

"That’s awfully sweet of you, Haruka-senpai."  She nudged his shoulder playfully.  "Just swim.  I know you want to."

"You just want to see my muscles wet."  He pouted but slipped into the water, barely disturbing the glassy surface.  If anyone were around to ask she would have claimed the summer heat was the cause of her flushed cheeks and not the sly words they always seemed to share when they were alone like this.

But no one was around.  So he swam and she watched.  It was a comfortable pattern and that was all they needed for now.


	12. MakoRin - Sphallolalia

**Sphallolalia** \- Flirtatious talk that leads no where.

 

It’s always the same: they swoop in, crash against each other, and then skitter away as if they’re afraid of being burned.  Afraid of fanning the flames that lick at their souls whenever they get too close, whenever things get too real for them.

Small talk in teasing tones that yearns to be more yet shies away into the shadows as soon as the light almost touches it.

"That scarf really brings out your eyes."  (I’ve stared at your eyes so much I know every fleck and flake of green in them)

"You can always make me smile." (When I’m with you I don’t  _have_  to smile and that’s amazing)

"You’re not leaving yet are you?" (Please don’t leave me ever)

Their friends can only watch as they dance around each other and it truly is a beautiful dance, yet heartbreaking at the same time.  Because if they could just slow down, take half a step back instead of the five mile leap apart that they always seem to make they would see they’re both wanting the same thing.


	13. Amakata - Quidnunc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request for a fic from Miss Amakata's POV.

**Quidnunc**  - One who always has to know what is going on.

 

She smiled as she watched the kids run around the yard.  It would be nice to have that kind of carefree energy again.  Oh of course she remembered being a teenager.  Granted it was long enough ago that some of the particulars and specifics were a bit fuzzy but not so long ago that she was a crotchety old lady bumbling around the street or something.  She hadn’t regretted any of her choices that had led to where she was now.  Granted certain ones embarrassed her and she knew that if any of the hellions that she taught on a regular basis got ahold of some of those choices that she’d probably have a hard time ever living it down.

But these kids were good ones.  Nagisa was a touch evil sometimes, she felt, and had a bad habit of assuming her body would make a good bargaining chip, but otherwise he wasn’t horrible.  Haru and Makoto were sweethearts, each in their own ways.  Haru was quiet and thoughtful while Makoto was helpful and gentle.  Rei tried so hard and she really felt her heart twinge with sympathy when she saw the occasional insecurity in his eyes when he would suddenly be on the outskirts of the group.  That moment of almost panic before one of the others would turn to him and loop him back in.  She knew that Gou would be capable of anything she wanted to do and that Gou had the kind of attitude and level-headedness she wished she’d had at that age.  Then there was Rin who, if you believed Sasabe, was a good kid who had been walking around with a Titanic sized chip on his shoulders for far too long.  She didn’t know much about the other two, other than being from Samezuka and one was Rin’s roommate and the other their former captain, but they seemed good too.

If nothing else all these kids were good for each other and that was the important thing.

She watched in amusement as Sasabe handed out another round of sparklers and other glittery shiny things and started in on a lecture about safety.  Which was quickly ended by Nagisa immediately starting to chase the grey-haired Samezuka student - Nitori she was pretty sure was his name - and Rei around the back yard with his sparkler.  Makoto jumped in to scold him while the others just watched and shook their heads and chatted.

“These kids’ll be the death of me someday,” Sasabe groaned as he took a seat next to her on the porch and stretched out his legs.  “Not that I mind.  They kind of grow on you.”  He accepted the glass of punch she handed him and smiled at her.  She glanced from the kids to him and tilted her head when she noticed him watching her.  “Are you sure I don’t know you from somewhere?”  His teasing tone made her roll her eyes.

“You know the answer as well as I do,” she said.  After a moment she nudged his shoulder gently and stood up.  “And we are not discussing it around them.  Who knows what they’d do with the information.”  Sasabe flopped out on the porch on his back and watched her slip into the kitchen and return with more drinks.  She gave him a smile before calling the kids over.  When they left he curled his fingers around her wrist.

“I’m pretty sure their manager already does.  I know the look someone gets once they know,” he winked and laughed at what she was sure was a rather scandalized look on her face.  With a huff she turned her attention to the kids and smiled.

“Ok I think it might be time to be done with the sparklers,” she plucked the lit one from Nagisa’s fingers as he jogged past her, chasing Gou.

“Aw, Ama-chan,” Nagisa whined, giving her his patented puppy eyes that in no way worked on her.  She was better at them and had more experience.

“No, Nagisa.  Time to turn your attention to something less flammable and dangerous.”  The blonde pouted but turned to his friends and tugged them down towards the beach.  “No swimming in the dark either.  Don’t sulk at me like that Haruka.  No means no.”  She settled back on the porch with a content sigh and watched the kids start making castles in the sand.

Which turned into some kind of sand war before too long and she was sure Haru had slipped into the water as soon as he found a shadowy place to do so.

The sound of laughter drifted up as she propped herself against the railing and dropped her feet into Sasabe’s lap.


	14. Nitori - Strikhedonia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nitori has a crush and turns to an unexpected person to help him figure things out.

**Strikhedonia**  - The pleasure of being able to say “to hell with it”.

 

[Nagisa: What?  Are you serious right now?]

[Aiichiro: I am completely serious.]

[Nagisa: Why me?]

[Aiichiro: My closest senpai is obsessed with no one dating his sister.  Ever.  My other senpai is obsessed with said senpai’s sister.  Or said senpai.  I’m really not sure anymore.]

[Nagisa: Is that all?]

[Aiichiro: You’re also the most devious person I know and the most willing to have people owe him favors.]

[Nagisa: Sounds about right.]

 

He wondered for what was probably the hundredth time today if asking for, and then listening to, Nagisa’s help was the right thing to do.  Aiichiro paced the length of his tiny shared dorm room once again and waited for his roommate to come back.  Confronting Rin was never something he liked to do, hell confronting anyone wasn’t really his cup of tea.  But Nagisa had insisted that this would be the best way.   _Do you really want to try and go behind his back?_   He had asked and Aiichiro had reluctantly agreed that it would be a terrible idea.  So here he was, waiting for Rin to return from his run.

He had decided to ambush the older teen as soon as he came in the door, plead his case, and hope that Nagisa would know where to find his body once Rin was finished with him.  His breath caught as he heard voices in the hall and it rushed out in a shaky groan as they passed and went into a room further down the hall.  Rin should be back any minute now.  He didn’t realize he had been clutching his phone until it buzzed in his hand.

[Nagsia: You can do it.  Remember.  Just tell him.  All at once like pulling off a bandaid.]

The lock clicked open and the threw his phone onto his desk and took a deep breath.  He watched the doorway long enough to catch sight of a flash of red hair and then he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Rin-senpai hear me out.  I have this person I really really like.  She’s funny and smart and pretty and kind but she can be kind of stern.  She’s got this amazing work ethic and when she laughs this little part of me lights up and just being around her makes me happy and I want her to be happy too.  Her hair and eyes and everything is just wonderful.  I know no one’s perfect but when I see her I sometimes wonder if that’s a lie because she is just that amazing.”

“Uh, Ai?”

“No you have to let me finish.”  Aiichiro took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, ignoring the starbursts of light appearing behind his lids.  “I really really wanna see her happy and ask her out and everything but I know that sneaking around behind your back would be an awful thing to do and you trust me and that means a lot so I hope you will trust me still.”

“What is your point here, Ai?”

“Rin-senpai, would you approve of me,” Ai opened his eyes, determined to at least look Rin eye to eye for this request and felt the words tumble out before he could stop them, “dating your sister?”  His question ended in a squeak as he registered that he was eye to eye not with Rin, but Gou.  His cheeks flushed as his eyes darted from Gou’s appraising face to Rin’s shocked one and then further back into the hallway where he saw Nagisa and the rest of the Iwatobi swim team watching him.

Nagisa gave him a grin and a thumbs up, pouting when Makoto reached over and snatched his phone from his fingers and Aiichiro just  _knew_  that Nagisa recorded the whole thing.  Why had he ever thought listening to Nagisa was a good idea?  His cheeks were flaming in mortification and he took several shallow breaths, slipping around Gou and Rin and hurrying off down the hallway.

What had he just done?

Rin was going to kill him.  Nagisa was probably going to blackmail him if by some miracle Rin let him live.  And OH GOD Gou had seen the whole thing.  He took the back stairs up two at a time and didn’t stop until he was leaning against the access door to the roof.  With a groan he collapsed onto the floor and pulled his knees to his chest.

His life was officially over.

Tentative footsteps echoed up the stairs towards him and he wished for nothing more than to just be absorbed into the wall or floor or something.  He saw a glimpse of red hair, pulled high in a ponytail, and almost whimpered.

Yep.  Totally over.  Completely.  One hundred percent.

 

Forty-three minutes later he was being tugged back down the hallway towards his room.  Dazed and smiling.

Because Gou had asked him on date.

Rin would just have to wait until after the movie to kill him.


	15. TakaMido - Under the Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set after that first loss to Seirin way back when

[30\. Under the Rain  
](http://ezzydean.tumblr.com/post/79076538203/send-me-a-number-and-two-characters-get-a-drabble)

 

It was a good thing it was raining, Takao decided as he watched his partner from the doorway and they both ignored the fact they were getting wet.  He let the water dripping off the building caress his face, leaving cold trails down his cheeks instead of the hot whisper of tears.  The tears weren’t for himself, not really.  The loss hurt, naturally, but it hurt his partner more.

Yes.  The rain was good.  Cleansing.  Refreshing.  Healing.  Whatever other empty words other people used to describe it.  Right now it was good because it meant he wouldn’t have to face the tears on his partner’s face just yet.  Just the knowledge that they were there left him unsettled.  It wasn’t like he was shaken to the core or anything, his faith in Midorima wasn’t so flimsy.  It was just… off putting.

If anything was shaken to the core it was Midorima himself it seemed.  Everything he had ever known about basketball and his place and the place of others seemed to have been torn from him.  Rather cruelly and surprisingly, if the way his fingers kept clenching around his phone were any indication.  Takao took a quiet, deep breath, pleased when it barely shook on the way in, and stepped over.

Midorima needed him right now and that was what he needed to focus on.

“Hey, Shin-chan,” he slapped his partner on the shoulder and threw a grin his direction, “I know you’re all sad and stuff right now.”

“I’m not sad and  _stuff_ ,” the way Midorima had of with throwing Takao’s words right back at him with that surly not quite pouting tone was impressive and Takao chose to ignore almost dignified sounding sniffle that snuck out at the end.  “Did you need something, Takao?”

“Just making sure alls well and all that.”  He popped open the umbrella that he had tucked into his gym bag, forecasts and horoscopes be damned he had felt rain in the air that morning, and hopped in front of Midorima.  “Shall we?”

“Shall we what?  I’m tired, I should go home.”  Should go, not need to or want to or am supposed to.  Takao was getting as good at hearing  _what_  Midorima said.  And what he  _didn’t_  say.  And  _how_  he said it all.  Words were Midorima’s defenses.  His weapons.

Somewhere along the way Takao had apparently decided that they would be his last defense and hopefully never needed weapons because Takao himself had become Midorima’s shield and would willingly throw the punches to keep Midorima’s hands clean.

“Shall we go eat, Shin-chan?  After a game like that we need to restock our energy.  I’ll even pay.”  He waited half a beat, almost expecting Midorima to shoot him down.  It wouldn’t be the first time his offers had been rejected.  Instead he grinned as the taller teen plucked the umbrella from his fingers and strode off down the sidewalk, leaving Takao to shout after him.  “Shin-chan wait up!  I’m getting soaked here.”

“You’re the one who wants to eat, don’t dawdle, Takao.”  

Midorima wanted to pretend that everything was fine.  That he was fine.  Takao could manage that.  He would pick Midorima back up time and time again until he was strong enough to admit he wasn’t fine and eventually they’d be standing side by side.


	16. Mikoshiba & Rin - Punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt for post Episode 11 scene with Mikoshiba & Rin because man that episode hurt (originally posted on Tumblr just after Ep 11 aired)

"I’m not mad at you, you know."  The golden eyes searched Rin’s face has he placed a hand on his shoulder.  "Despite what you think I’m not trying to punish you."  He felt Rin tense and was ready for the backlash.

"Not punishing me?  Then what the hell do you think you’re doing?  Is this some fucking game to you?"  Seijuro took a deep breath and let Rin have his say.  The guy needed to break eventually and it was better if he took it out on someone who was ready for it.  He didn’t even flinch when Rin grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him close.  "You just dangle the opportunity in my face and yank it away as soon as I grab it?  You’re just like everybody and everything else in my life.  You wait until I think I’ve got something in my grasp and then you push me in the deep end and laugh when I start sinking."  Rin’s breath was hard and fast and he looked ready to punch something.  Seijuro wrapped his hand around Rin’s wrist and just held it.  Not pressuring him or trying to tug him away.  He held his gaze and waited.

"Do I look like I’m laughing?"  His voice was steady, low, calming.  Like he was dealing with a wild animal.  In a way he was, he supposed as he watched Rin’s nostrils flare and his eyes narrow, feeling the tension and anger rolling off him in waves.

"Why?"  The question nearly broke Seijuro.  Not because it was unexpected.  It was actually the first thing he had figured he’d hear out of Rin.  But he thought it would be thrown out like a gauntlet, challenge dripping from every letter of the word.  He didn’t expect the quaver in Rin’s voice as he asked that one question.  He didn’t expect to see the fire suddenly extinguish in the younger man’s eyes.  He didn’t expect the almost tears he saw forming.

"I think you know why.  You’re distracted.  You’re hurting yourself and the team.  You can barely focus on swimming your head is so far gone."  Rin dropped his shirt and his shoulders slumped.  "I don’t even think you know what you want from this anymore."  Seijuro put his hand back on Rin’s shoulder and squeezed it.  "I gotta look out for everyone, you know.  You wanted the chance and I worked my ass off to give it to you.  But I don’t want to see you swimming like this.  I don’t want to see anyone on the team hurting this much because of a race."  When Rin didn’t say anything he pulled him into a hug, resting his chin on Rin’s head.  "I don’t want you hurt anymore than you already have been."  He could feel Rin’s resolve crumbling so he lead him back inside his room.  He had been lucky enough to get a room to himself since he was the captain.  The first strangled sob escaped as soon as the door was closed and Rin hit him in the chest.

"Damn it.  Damn it damn it damn it."  The blows didn’t have much behind them and he just walked Rin to the bed and pulled him down.  Letting him punch weakly at his chest as he hid his face in the pillows.  "I finally almost have the answers and you go and screw it all up.  I hate you."

"I know you do."  Seijuro rubbed Rin’s back as he slowly stopped hitting his chest.  "I also know that you know what I’m saying is the truth."  The fist against his chest flattened and he heard Rin sniffle.  "A captain can’t really be selfish.  No matter how kind he wants to be to his team members.  Or how much he cares for them."

"Ugh damn you."  They laid on the bed quietly for awhile and for the hundredth time this week Seijuro wished he knew what was on Rin’s mind.  But there were some things that even a captain can’t know about his team members.  No matter how much he wants to.  So he just waited until Rin was ready to continue.


End file.
